Much Ado About Margaret by Madeleine Roux ~ a Review

by MK French

Margaret Arden would love to live as the heroines in her novels. Her idyllic life is fine, but rejections might mean being forced into marriage to improve the family finances. Captain Bridger Darrow is back in England, but struggling to save his family from destitution. His publishing venture isn't successful, but he finds pages of a novel he would love to publish. Unfortunately, he already told off the author. Bridger now must regain Margaret's trust, and sparks begin to fly.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

October 2024; Dell; 978-0593499399
audio, ebook, print (272 pages); Regency romance

If the title reminds you of Shakespeare, it's deliberate; she shares a birthday with him and there are quotes in front of every chapter. The novel is also written with language more in keeping with the time period than our modern language. Even the opening makes me think of Jane Austen. We see how few options women had in that time period if they're of the genteel class, and how quickly people turn on each other in Society. 

Margaret's father had encouraged stories and writing but hadn't been very wealthy. She and her sisters along with her mother had to move in with her Aunt Eliza, who insists she must make an advantageous marriage to support her mother and sisters the way her mother didn't; Eliza and Margaret's other aunt resent Margaret's mother for not doing her duty and leaving them to make the rich but loveless marriage. She's sure of her novel, and that publishing it will support herself and her family, but Eliza won't hear of her going into a trade, and Regency women were generally not allowed to be authors. 

Enter Bridger, who is the second son and not that wealthy, especially with an older brother acting badly and squandering the family fortune. They had a bad upbringing and their father essentially has dementia. His older brother comes to a wedding to ask for money; the groom is Bridger's best friend and Margaret's cousin, putting the two back in each other's orbit after the disastrous first meeting, and keeping them there. They work well together and appreciate many of the same things about books, which makes the reader and some of the other characters know its meant to be. They have struggles along the way due to family expectations and the financial considerations, but we get a happily ever after for them in the end.

Buy Much Ado About Margaret at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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